Digital Demon Story
by Alacron
Summary: AU, After the incident with Mizuki, the Sandaime has a talk with Naruto, with revelations and... gifts?
1. Digital Demons? A Startling Revelation!

Digital Demon

Digital Demons? A Startling Revelation!

AN: Weird idea. AU, starts between episodes 1 & 2.

On with the story!

(Scene Break)

Sarutobi pretended to listen as Iruka gave his report on what had happened in the forest. He already knew all of it of course, he'd been watching the entire thing with his scrying technique, but then again, Iruka and Naruto didn't need to know he'd been watching them.

It seemed like Iruka was getting to the end. "So then, Naruto was able to perform the Kage Bunshin, and defeated Mizuki himself?"

Iruka nodded, "Yes Hokage-sama."

"And then you gave Naruto your headband and promoted him to Genin, is that correct?"

"Yes Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi chuckled, "Very well Iruka, that will be all from you. Go back home and rest; I want you to be healed up before the next semester starts."

Naruto sagged a bit, realizing that now Iruka wouldn't be able to take him out for ramen, he got up and began heading for the door. "Naruto," came the Hokage's voice, "I haven't dismissed _you _yet. I want to speak to you alone before you go back home."

Naruto looked back at the old man, Iruka gave his favorite student a worried glance, but headed for the door anyway, "It'll be alright Naruto-kun, I'll treat you to ramen tomorrow okay?"

Naruto nodded weakly, then sat back down in his chair, looking at his feet. Once Iruka had left, the Hokage began to speak again, "Naruto, there are two things I want to say to you.

"First off, I'm sorry." Naruto was pretty surprised at that. He looked up at his leader's face, and saw him with his eyes closed, hands folded in front of his face. It was the most serious look he'd ever received from the Hokage. Even the times he'd been scolded for his pranks the old man usually seemed to have a joking tone about him. He listened in fascination as he went on, "I'm sorry for not telling you about the Kyuubi, and I'm sorry that I didn't do more to help you through the tough times in your life. I know that it must have been hard, but this was the last wish of the Fourth."

Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion, "His last wish? What are you talking about old man?"

"The Fourth had wished that you would be viewed as a hero by the people of Konoha. He wanted you to be seen as the one who stole the Kyuubi's power, and saved them from destruction. He wanted you to use that power he gave you to become a great ninja of our village, and protect it just as he had."

Naruto smiled, "Well he's right, I am going to become a great ninja! I'll even become Hokage, the best there ever was, and the best there ever will be, Kyuubi or no Kyuubi. Nobody will get in the way of my dream, ya hear?"

Sarutobi smiled back, "The second thing that I owe you is an explanation. Mizuki told you that you are the Kyuubi, sealed in human form, and stripped of the demonic power it once held. This is not true, no matter how many people in Konoha believe it.

"And as I'm sure Iruka told you, the Kyuubi's soul was sealed inside of you, because it was the only known was to kill a demon of the kind of power. This, is truer than Mizuki's explanation, but it is still false."

Naruto's eyes widened, "What? What are you talking about old man?"

Sarutobi continued, "The technique that the Fourth used, the Shiki Fuujin, was indeed supposed to seal the Kyuubi's soul in your body, but that is not what happened. Even I do not know what happened that day. When the technique was used, the Kyuubi's body broke apart, and became what looked like dust particles. This is what was sealed inside of you. Other unexpected things happened as well, such as the whisker-like marks that appeared on your cheeks, and your body's ability to heal itself faster than any normal human body should. Your chakra capacity is far greater than any I have ever seen, and I suspect it shall only get larger as time goes on.

"But that is not the only odd thing that happened after the Kyuubi was sealed."

Naruto was entrance in his words by know, "What? What else happened?"

"While searching the area where the Kyuubi had disappeared, I found a rather large, and strange looking egg. I took the egg home and hid it in my private study, and it remained that way for a very long time. But three weeks ago, the egg hatched."

"What came out?"

Sarutobi pulled a scroll out from one of the drawers on his desk. He pricked his finger with a kunai and opened up the scroll, wiping a streak of blood across it, he re-rolled the scroll with a flick of his wrist. He placed the scroll on his desk and performed some quick hand seals. In a puff of smoke, the scroll disappeared, and in its place stood a creature that Naruto had never seen before. It looked a bright yellow ball with stubby little legs, a mouth, eyes the same bright blue color as Naruto's, and a fox tail and ears all sprouting from it. It coughed a couple of times as the smoke cleared then began to look around its new surrounding.

Naruto stared at the creature in fascination. It sniffed the desk a bit, looked left, looked right, and then straight at Naruto. Suddenly its face beamed, and it leapt off the table at Naruto, "I've found you!"

"Whoa!" The strange creature landed on his chest, and the two tumbled backwards in the chair Naruto had been sitting in. The blonde groaned as the little mass of yellow fuzz nuzzled against him. Naruto sat up and the creature sat, or something close to sitting, in he lap, staring up at him with those bright blue eyes that mirrored his. The two stared at each other for a while before Naruto spoke, "Just who, or what are you?"

"I'm Viximon, and I'm your digimon." Viximon's eyes shot open, "Oh! I almost forgot." He leapt back up onto the desk and began to jump up and down. "Hey, hey old man, where's the present I'm supposed to give him huh? Where'd you put it?"

Naruto blinked, "Present?"

Sarutobi sighed, but pulled a small silver device from his robe, and held it out. "Thank you!" Viximon picked it up in its mouth and carried it back to Naruto, and dropped in his lap. "This is for you."

Naruto picked it up. It was small, and silver. It had screen like on the digital watches he sometimes saw people wear, and a few buttons on the side.

"What is it?"

"It's a digivice." Viximon said proudly.

Naruto began fiddling with the buttons. A digital clock popped up on the screen. "What does it do. Besides tell me what time it is I mean."

Viximon scowled. "Well… um… I don't really know. But I do know that it's very important."

Naruto looked up at Sarutobi, "Old man?"

The Hokage shifted in his chair a bit. "Whatever Viximon is, he seems to want to be with you. I suggest that you take him home with you. Keep the… digivice with you as well. But I must caution you, do not let anyone know about Viximon's existence, and especially not its connection with you and the Kyuubi. I don't want to think about what problems may arise if people learn that you are keeping some strange fox creature in your apartment.

Naruto nodded. He pocketed the device, and looked down at Viximon. They stared at each other for a moment, then looked back Sarutobi. "How am I supposed to get him home without anybody seeing?"

Sarutobi sweat dropped. "I guess I'll have to teach you the summoning technique. Here, I'll write up another scroll and you can practice the hand seals."

(Scene Break)

OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!

A miniscule figure in a black cloak turned around as an equally miniscule figure holding a microphone ran up to him. The second person was a reporter by the looks of her well pressed clothes, flawless makeup, and the small camera crew working to catch up with her. After she'd caught her breath, she held the microphone up to the cloaked man's mouth. "Alacron, you've got fics that have feature crossovers between Naruto and Ninja Gaiden, Naruto and Star Wars KOTOR, and just now finished the first chapter of a Naruto and Digimon crossover fic. Do you plan to write any other crossovers in the near future?"

The cloaked man rubbed his chin in thought.

(Scene Break)

Naruto leaned against the wall and took a long drag on his cigarette. "Dammit, when's everybody gonna get here huh?"

Sasuke continued to shuffle his cards, "Shut up. I'm trying to concentrate here."

Naruto scoffed, "Concentrate on what? Is shuffling cards a challenge for someone as brain-dead as you?"

Sasuke responded by flicking one of the cards at his teammate. The card was glowing an eerie light, and exploded right in front of Naruto's nose. The blonde didn't flinch, since they'd done things like this millions of times before.

"Cut it out you two." Came Shikamaru's voice. The two turned to look at him, he was wearing his red visor, and was followed by Ino. "Everybody else will be here soon so just chill okay?"

Sasuke grunted and began shuffling again, Naruto just put out his cigarette on the palm of his hand, a habit that he knew grossed most of the team out. He smirked, "Whatever Cyke."

With a bamf, Lee, Neji and Ten-Ten appeared in a cloud of black smoke. Lee smiled as his tail swished behind him. "See Icy, I told you we'd get here early."

Naruto chuckled, "Actually, you're all late. It just so happened that most everyone else is later than you."

Lee looked down hearted, but sat down in a chair anyway. Before long, Kiba entered, followed by his beast of a dog, Akamaru. He greeted everyone with a wave and a toothy smile that revealed his abnormally large and sharp teeth, then took his place next to Naruto.

Sakura and Hinata entered next. Many suspected that the Hyuuga had been responsible for the fog that helped them all arrive here in secret, but no-one said anything. Sakura sat down in the chair nearest Sasuke and Naruto, while brushing some white and pink hair out of her face with her gloved hand.

It wasn't much longer before Sarutobi entered the room, his wheelchair being pushed by Chouji, who was in his metallic form. Sarutobi nodded at his team, "Good, you're all here. All right X-Men, let's get down to business."

(Scene Break)

The reporter sweat dropped as Alacron shook his head and began walking away, mumbling to himself. "No, no, no. Chouji should be the Blob, not Colossus. But everybody would be expecting that, and I hate the Blob anyway. Besides, he's a part of the Brotherhood, he shouldn't be working with the X-Men unless Apocalypse attacked. But I put Kiba on the team, and he was Sabertooth, I think. Maybe I could make Kiba Beast instead. That might work…"

(Scene Break)

AN: Yes, it's a Naruto/Digimon crossover. Yes it is weird. And yes, I have lost my mind. Blame it on college.

For those of you wondering, the Omake was a strange X-Men/Naruto fusion, and the characters are:

Naruto: Wolverine

Sasuke: Gambit

Sakura: Rogue

Kiba: Sabertooth/Beast, take your pick (though I like Sabertooth better)

Shino: Not there. Maybe he could be Havoc or something, I really don't know or care.

Hinata: Storm

Shikamaru: Cyclops

Ino: Jean Grey

Chouji: Colossus

Lee: Nightcrawler

Neji: Iceman

Ten-Ten: Psylocke

Sarutobi: Professor X

No, I don't plan on writing any Naruto/X-Men fusion. Feel free to take this idea and write something though.


	2. Enter Renamon! New Partnership Is Forged

Digital Demon Story

Enter Renamon! A New Partnership Is Forged!

AU: More of my weird idea. Enjoy.

On with the story!

(Scene Break)

Naruto carefully placed the scroll on the floor of his apartment. He'd already placed his blood on it, so now he would just have to do the hand seals that the Third had shown him, supply the chakra and Viximon would be safely in his home.

One loud POOF later, the scroll was replaced with the little mass of fuzzy cuteness that called himself Viximon. After coughing a bit through the smoke, Viximon stared up at Naruto, who stared right back. Naruto wasn't saying anything because he still couldn't believe that the digimon actually existed, despite the fact that the Hokage himself had been the one who gave the digimon to him. Viximon continued to stare at him, as if he was expecting something from the blonde.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "So… um… you hungry or something?"

"Yeah! What'cha got?"

Naruto opened his cupboard and pulled out two packs of instant ramen, "I hope you like ramen, cuz it's all I got."

Viximon scrunched up his nose, "What's ramen?"

Naruto grinned, "My furry friend, ramen is the food of the gods. Soon you shall experience the splendor that many have partaken in, but only a select few truly appreciate for the masterpiece that it truly is."

The yellow digimon looked awed. "Wow, that's so awesome."

"So uh… tell me, what exactly are you?" Naruto asked.

Viximon giggled. "I told you silly, I'm a digimon."

Naruto scratched his head again, "Yeah but, what is a digimon exactly?"

Viximon scrunched his nose again, "Well, I don't exactly know, but why don't you tell me what a human is?"

Naruto folded his arms, "That's easy, a human is… uh, well it's like me. And the old man too. We're both humans and we're… uh. Okay good point. But you're a fox… thing, so why did you hatch from an egg?"

"Well all digimon hatch from eggs. After we hatch, we're in our baby form, and when we get old enough, we evolve into our baby forms."

Naruto waved his arms in front of his face, "Wait, wait, forms? What're you talking about?"

"Um, digimon have different forms depending on how powerful or old they are. Whenever we get old enough, we evolve into a more powerful, usually bigger form."

"And all digimon go through this?"

"Yep."

Naruto scratched his chin. "Huh, that's kind of weird." Then went back to work on making breakfast for himself and Viximon.

The blonde placed two cups of ramen on the table, then grabbed some chopsticks and began slurping with his usual fervor. He was happy to see that, after taking a couple of experimental bites, Viximon was chowing down with the same passion as himself. Once he'd finished eating, Naruto crumpled the Styrofoam cup in his hand and tossed in the waste basket near his sink. Viximon watched the genin, then picked up the cup with his mouth, jumped off the table, walked across the floor, jumped up and dropped the cup in the wastebasket.

Naruto's mouth dropped. Viximon, oblivious to the boy's shock, simply leapt back up on the table and stared at him again. The genin shook his head to clear his thoughts. He looked back down at the digimon, "Okay, so I've been up for about twenty-four hours now, I'm gonna go to bed."

Viximon yawned, "Me too."

Naruto changed into his pajamas and night cap, then climbed into his small bed. Viximon leapt up onto the bed, and cuddled up next to Naruto, promptly falling asleep. Absentmindedly, Naruto wrapped his arm around his new friend and fell asleep as well.

(Scene Break)

Later that day, Naruto groggily woke up, stretched his arms out, and suddenly realized that something was missing. He looked all around his bed, but couldn't find it. Viximon was gone.

Naruto scratched his head, "Was it just a dream?"

The sound of a flushing toilet answered him. He turned to face his bathroom door, only to see Viximon trot out seconds later. Naruto's eyebrow twitched, _'You've got to be kidding me.'_

Naruto looked at the old alarm clock he kept beside his bed. "3 o'clock huh?" He rubbed his chin, "I was supposed to do something today, but what was it?"

He could hear Viximon saying something, but wasn't paying much attention.

The newly appointed genin smacked himself on the head a few times. "Man what was it."

"Hey Naruto, what's a 'Ninja ID'?"

He turned to Viximon, who was apparently reading his calendar. "It's the picture that we take that goes in Konoha's record books. I'm supposed to get mine taken at…" His face paled, "OH CRAP! I AM SO LATE!"

Viximon watched in fascination as Naruto scrambled to get dressed, find his goggles, and all of the paperwork he would need for today. Before he left though, Naruto spent at least fifteen minutes applying some kind of makeup. Once he was done, he turned to Viximon. "How do I look?"

The mini-fox giggled, "You look like a Kabukimon."

"Thanks, I'll see ya later!" and he was out the door.

(Scene Break)

The door to the desolate apartment of one Uzumaki Naruto swung open, and said only began to shamble his way inside. Though he tried to hide it, the fight with Mizuki, playing with Konohamaru, and the fight (if you could call it that) with Ebisu had drained him. If there was one thing he needed right now, it was ramen.

Naruto plopped himself into the chair at his table. "So hungry…" He moaned.

A Styrofoam cup of ramen slid across the table towards him. Immediately Naruto grabbed it and devoured its contents. He sighed contentedly once he finished. "Thanks Viximon, I really needed that."

"I'm not Viximon." Came the much deeper than usual reply.

Naruto's head shot up. Standing across the table was what could best be described as a bipedal fox. He was slightly miffed to note that it was taller than he was. "Who are you?"

The tail swished behind the fox as a large grin grew on his face. "I was Viximon, but I evolved while you were gone. I'm Renamon now."

Naruto blinked, then blinked two more times. "Oh, okay then. So why did you evolve?"

Renamon shrugged, "Not sure, I had just eaten dinner when I felt… empowered. Before I knew it, I had evolved into Renamon."

"Well, when did you eat dinner?"

"Not too long ago, about fifteen minutes before you got home I guess."

Naruto rubbed his chin, "Well, that's when I was with Konohamaru and the closet pervert. Weird."

Renamon tapped his chin, "There was one weird thing though."

Naruto looked up, "Yeah?"

The fox pointed at Naruto's nightstand, "After I'd evolved, I noticed that your digivice was glowing, or the screen was at least."

Naruto picked up the silver device from the nightstand. "Well it's not glowing now. Think it has anything to do with why you evolved?"

Renamon shrugged, "How should I know, I was only born three weeks ago."

Naruto smiled nervously, "Uh, yeah. Good point."

Renamon crossed his arms and took a deep breath. "Hey Naruto?"

"What?"

"Not to be a bad guest or anything, but is there any chance that I could get out of this apartment? I mean, I appreciate you're hospitality and everything but it's kinda boring when I'm here all alone."

Naruto shook his head, "I dunno. You heard what the old man said, we can't let anybody know that you exist."

Renamon grinned again, "Don't worry, Renamon like me are notoriously good at sneaking around."

Naruto scoffed a bit, "Dude? Let's not forget that this is a village of ninja. You might be able to get by the civilians without noticing, but not even the stealthiest ninja can get through here without being noticed." Renamon frowned at Naruto's dismissal of his skills. "Although…"

The fox digimon raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"Maybe you could learn the transformation technique, and then I'd be able to get you out and around."

Renamon stretched, "All right, let's get this done sooner rather than later. I want to be able to stretch out and go for a run or something."

Naruto nodded, "Okay. First thing ya gotta do is…"

(Scene Break)

The next day, Naruto was tossing a shuriken between his hands as he scanned the forest around him. "Okay, coast is clear."

The shuriken poofed into a billowing cloud of smoke and a rather wobbly looking Renamon appeared from it. He clutched his head with one hand as he tried to steady his balance. "Ugh, don't do that anymore okay? I feel like I'm about to find out what bile flavored ramen tastes like."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Sorry."

After the fox had regained his bearings, the two partners leapt up into the trees each landing on a different branch, facing one another. "You ready?"

"Whenever you are."

(Scene Break)

OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!

"Mr. Alacron, a word please?" The mysterious author sighed. The reporter lady had caught up with him again. He turned to face her but didn't say anything. "Mr. Alacron, it seems that your X-men/Naruto fusion idea is generating a positive response among readers. Do you have any other ideas?"

Once again, the Author rubbed his chin in thought.

(Scene Break)

"WOOHOO! This is awesome! Come on, we've got to go save the princess!"

"This is so, incredibly stupid. Even for you Naruto."

Naruto looked confused, "Who? I don't know this 'Naruto' person you keep talking about. Why don't you just call me by my _real_ name?" He ended his last sentence with one of the biggest shit-eating grins Sasuke had ever seen on him.

"I am NOT saying it. It's. Stupid!"

Naruto just laughed, "You're just jealous cuz you're the sidekick and _I'm_ the main character."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched, "I am definitely not a sidekick, okay?"

"Whatever." Naruto adjusted the red cap he was wearing with a large N emblazoned on the front, "Come on _Sasuigi_, the sooner we save Princess Sakura, the sooner we can stop."

Sasuke sighed, then put his green cap back on. It was identical to Naruto's, save for the color and the fact that instead of an N on the front, there was a large S. And so the Super Nario Bros. set off to rescue the princess.

"Cool! A fire flower!"

Eventually.

(Scene Break)

The reporter's eye twitched as she finished reading the script. "Uh, Mr. Alacron, you aren't really going to write something like this are you?" She looked up, but the man in the black cloak was already gone.

(Scene Break)

AN: Welp, another chapter finished. Still on the short side, but hey, two chapters in two days is pretty good for me. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to keep up this rate. Considering the state of my other fics though… just don't expect any miracles kay?

Read, Review, Repeat.


	3. A New Sensei! Naruto’s Secret Exposed?

Digital Demon Story

A New Sensei! Naruto's Secret Exposed?

AN: More Digimon/Naruto goodness.

On with the story!

(Scene Break)

"Hmm."

Renamon read through the same scroll for what must have been the seventeenth time. Of course, perhaps reading is too strong of a word.

"Ugh."

Sure, he could read the characters that were painted on to it, but he just didn't find it particularly interesting. And judging by the amount of dust that had been on it when he had found it, Naruto didn't find it all that interesting either.

Renamon let himself fall onto his back, trying to find something interesting about the ceiling. "So bored."

Naruto had left to take another exam to become a full fledged ninja. Apparently, the exam he had gone through before the two had met for the first time was only the beginning. And so, Renamon was left behind. Again. Yesterday had been bad enough, when Naruto had to go meet his team for the first time. By the time he had gotten home, the hyperactive ninja had already prepared a long rant about his team and his new sensei. Renamon was perfectly willing to listen, and besides, it gave them a good excuse to sneak out to the woods and train again.

The fox smiled, Naruto's training sessions was about the only fun he could have since he had evolved. Back when he had been in his baby form, everything seemed interesting. That first day when Naruto left to get his ID photo taken, Viximon had spent the entire day busying himself with chasing dust bunnies and figuring out what everything in the apartment smelled like.

But now he had evolved, and nearly all the things that had pleased him when he was a baby just lacked flair now. He felt confined, and he really, really needed to get out.

Renamon sat up at that thought. Maybe he should just get out. Maybe he could go find Naruto and help him out with his test. After all, it wasn't like he was going against anything Naruto himself believed in. Rules were made to be broken and all that.

The fox crawled over to the window, and gently eased it open. After taking a few quick looks outside, he leapt out and landed in the alley. He quickly performed a transformation, to make himself appear like an eight year old boy, and headed into the street. Once he'd caught Naruto's scent, he was off.

(Scene Break)

"HA! You don't have to worry about me Kakashi-sensei, I'll kick your ass and take those bells in no time!"

The three ninja that were watching him all sweat-dropped. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, _'Hmm, I guess he's not the type for stealth. Oh well, guess I'll just have to teach him a lesson first.'_

"Hmm." The jounin drawled, "Well then _Dead Last_, let's see just how spectacularly you fail when you try."

Naruto was seething. In some distant part of his mind, a little voice was telling him to keep cool, and think rationally. Of course, it was kind of hard to make out over the loud echoes of Kakashi's Dead Last comment.

The blonde rushed forward, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Naruto stopped when and leapt back when he saw his sensei reaching into the pouch on his belt. The jounin was moving slow, painfully slow. Naruto had enough sense left in him to know that he should at least wait to see what weapon he was drawing before launching his attack.

Of course, all semblance of danger that the jounin had created vanished once Naruto saw that he had been reaching for a book. And it only served to piss him off once he realized that it was a perverted book. Lazily, Kakashi turned to the dog-eared page that he had left off on last time, "You can start whenever you want to Naruto. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"DON'T MOCK ME YOU BASTARD!" All sense forgotten, Naruto put all of the force he could muster behind a single punch, which of course Kakashi casually ducked. Naruto followed up with a barrage of kicks and punches, all of which were blocked or dodged with an ease that Naruto felt shouldn't have been possible. He threw a couple of shuriken which Kakashi caught on his fingers, all while giggling at some joke in the book.

Naruto rushed in for another offensive, _'No more mister nice guy.'_

Kakashi's eye widened a bit when Naruto covered the distance between the two of them much more quickly than he had predicted. He was even more surprised when Naruto leapt up into the air and delivered a rough kick that was vaguely reminiscent of Gai's Leaf Spinning Wind technique. Though it was easily blocked, Naruto started with a volley of kicks and punches that were becoming increasingly hard to block with one hand. Just when it seemed like Naruto would break through his guard, Kakashi threw his book into the air, grabbed Naruto by the wrist, and hurled him towards the river. Just after Kakashi had let go, the blonde threw five shuriken his way, forcing Kakashi to block them with a quickly grabbed kunai.

As Naruto fell into the rushing water, Kakashi deposited his weapon back into its pouch, along with his book once it fell back to earth.

'_Amazing!'_ Sakura thought, _'When did Naruto get so good at taijutsu?'_

Sasuke was less pleased with his teammate's performance. _'Naruto, where did you learn to fight like that?'_

Kakashi smiled inwardly, _'Iruka's reports never said anything about this. He must have improved a lot between now and that night in the forest.'_

(Scene Break)

Renamon looked over the scene before him. Naruto was tied to a tree stump, his teammates were sitting next to him, and all three of them were getting lectured by the silver haired guy. While a part of him wanted to just go down there and cut Naruto out form the ropes that were binding, another part was captivated by the jounin's speech.

"Okay," The jounin said, "I'll give you once last chance. After lunch, you'll have one hour to get the bells. Sasuke, Sakura, you two can have lunch. But Naruto… doesn't get any. If either of you try to feed him, you'll be immediately disqualified."

With that, Kakashi disappeared in swirl of leaves. Renamon watched angrily as the two other genin ate their food in front Naruto, who he knew had to be starving by now.

"I don't need food," Naruto shouted, "I can kick Kakashi sensei's ass, even if my stomach's completely empty." Renamon cringed, he could hear Naruto's stomach from his perch in the trees. Sasuke and Sakura had the decency to stop eating at the sound of Naruto's stomach growling.

The fox continued to watch as Sasuke and Sakura both decided to share their food with their blonde teammate. He smiled, trying to suppress his laughter at the display that Naruto and Sakura were putting on as she fed her rice to him. Then there was a crack of thunder, a flash of lighting and Kakashi was standing in front of Team 7 again.

'_Holy Shit!' _The fox nearly fell from his branch, _'Where the hell did he come from?'_

"So…" Kakashi somehow seemed much taller and more imposing than he did before. "You think you can get away with breaking my rules? A ninja in my team has no use for insubordination!"

"That's bullshit!" Naruto cried, "You told us yourself how important teamwork is, then you turn around and tell us not to help each other? Just what kind of teacher are you anyway?"

Sakura spoke up as well, "That's right, we're only doing what's best for the team."

Sasuke wasn't saying anything, but gave his sensei what could only be a defiant glare.

"Very well then…" Kakashi leaned forward, "You pass."

There was a silence, "What?"

"You, pass."

After some explanation, Renamon watched Team 7 leave the clearing…

Without untying Naruto.

"Hey! HEY! Where are you going, somebody get back here cut me loose!"

Kakashi turned around, scratching the back of his head, "Ah, whoops. Sorry about that Naruto." He turned to his other two students. "You two go on home, I'll take care of him."

The two genin nodded and left. Kakashi made his way over to the stump where Naruto was tied up, ignoring Naruto's glare. Slowly he began to undo the knot, and without looking away from his work, he called out, "You can come down now. I know you're there."

Renamon's eyes snapped wide open. Naruto looked bewildered, which was not an odd expression to see on him. "Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei, who are you talking to?"

Kakashi smiled down at him. "Your fox friend of course. It seems he followed you here."

Naruto's mouth dropped, and one single thought ran through both his and Renamon's minds, _'Oh shit.'_

Reluctantly, Renamon leapt down onto the grass, and walked to where the two of them were standing. For some reason, he couldn't stop himself shaking. He noticed that Naruto was trembling as well. For a couple of minutes, nobody said anything, and that really set the fox on edge.

Naruto stepped forward and punched Renamon in the face. "You idiot!" There were tears in his eyes, "Why didn't you stay home?"

Renamon rubbed his cheek, "I- I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you passed you know?"

"Don't you get it? Now everybody's gonna know. They're gonna take you away cuz they're afraid of foxes."

The digimon turned away. Somehow, he knew there was nothing that the two of them could do to stop Kakashi in a fight. He turned to leaf jounin, who looked slightly embarrassed. "Um… guys? I'm not going to tell anyone about you two. I just thought I should know everything there is to know about my student."

"Huh?" The two blondes chorused.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, and I assume you're the reason that Naruto's taijutsu increased so much?" Renamon just blinked in response, "Have you taught him anything else Renamon?"

"Taught him?" Renamon shook his head, "I haven't taught him anything, we've just sparred a couple times." Then something hit him, "Waitaminut! How'd you know my name is Renamon?"

"The Hokage told me. I also saw you in Naruto's apartment yesterday, before he left for school, so that's how I knew the name of your evolved form."

Naruto got angry at that one, "What were you doing spying on my apartment?"

"The Hokage wanted me to see your digimon, so that I knew what I may be dealing with. We didn't know that he'd evolved though, so I wound up learning more than I thought I would."

Kakashi sighed as the two continued to barrage him with questions. _'This could take a while.'_

(Scene Break)

OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!

"HEY! I'm talking to you!" Reporter-Lady threw her microphone at the man in the black cloak. He turned around just in time for it to hit him square in the forehead. Reporter-Lady and her camera crew caught up with Alacron for the third time that day, and she quickly grabbed her microphone while the Author was rubbing his now bruised forehead. "Mr. Alacron, do you have any-"

"Here." Alacron handed her another script.

(Scene Break)

"Being a damsel in distress sucks." Sakura muttered as she hung suspended above the throne of Orochi Koopa.

"BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Kabuto, who was wearing blue robes and had wizards hat on, shook his head. "I just don't think that type of evil laugh suits you Orochi-sama."

Orochimaru shrugged, "Hey, if I'm gonna play Bowser, I've got get the part down right."

"Well sir," Said Dosu, "if you're going to do that, then shouldn't you get into costume?"

"Yeah," added Zaku, "if we gotta wear these stupid shells then you should too."

Orochi rubbed his chin, "Good point, but I gotta get this laugh down first. 'Ku-ku-ku' just doesn't work for Bowser."

"Would you guys stop staring at me!" Sakura yelled at Kimimaro and Tayuya.

"I… Can't help it." Kimimaro said. "There's just…"

"So much… pink." Tayuya finished.

"Pink hair."

"Pink lipstick."

"Pink blush."

"Pink dress."

"Pink shoes."

"Pink gloves."

"Pink socks."

"Pink underpants too." Sakon added.

"Pervert!" Sakura kicked him in the face.

"Agh!" Sakon fell to floor, holding his face in pain. "Oh god my eye!"

Tayuya cringed, "Ouch, and she's wearing heels too."

Kimimaro just shook his head.

Suddenly one of the walls exploded, and Jirobou and Kidoumaru were suddenly inside the throne room. Jiroubou was already knocked out, but the six-armed man managed to remain conscious long enough to deliver a message. "Orochi-sama… They're here."

As the dust cleared, Naruto's voice rang out. "Man… We kick SO much ass!"

Orochimaru squealed. "I'm out of costume! Stall them!" Then ran off.

Naruto took no notice. "Hey guys check this out!" A swirling ball of fire appeared in his hand, "It's a Rasengan made of fire! Isn't that awesome!"

"Hey waitaminut!" Kabuto shouted, "You don't have a fire flower. How can you make fire without a fire flower?"

Naruto grinned, "Didn't you ever play Superstar Saga? Mario learned how to use fire powers naturally in that game."

Zaku paled, "So that means that you can use your old technique without breaking the fourth wall?"

"Yep! And guess what Luigi learned in Superstar Saga?"

The sound of many birds chirping answered that question.

"Fuck."

(Scene Break)

AN: Tired now. Probably no update this weekend. We'll just have to see how it goes.


	4. Demon Brothers Attack! Naruto’s New Tech

Digital Demon Story

The Demon Brothers Attack! Naruto's New Technique!

AN: Beginning of the wave arc. Just got a new game in the mail, and I'm expecting another tomorrow, so… yeah.

On with the story!

(Scene Break)

"An escort mission?" Renamon asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, we're supposed to protect some old bridge builder from bandits and junk."

"And how long will this take?"

The blonde scratched his head. "About a month I think. We're supposed to protect him until he can finish his bridge."

The fox digimon nodded. "Right then, I'll be going with you."

Naruto nearly face-faulted. "Are you nuts? You remember what happened last time you tried to follow me? If Kakashi-sensei hadn't already known, then we'd be in really deep shit right now."

Renamon shrugged, "Yeah, but it will just be us, your team, and the bridge builder right? No other ninjas, so nobody but you or Kakashi will know. Your teammates couldn't detect me when I was spying on you guys during the survival exam, so there's no need to worry about them. And besides, there is no way that I'm gonna stay locked up in this apartment for a month. I'll go stir crazy probably commit seppuku or something!" The last sentence had more dramatic flair than was really necessary.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Fine! But we'll need to talk to Kakashi-sensei before we leave." His face fell, "Er… If we can find him that is."

(Scene Break)

'_I am _so_ going to get you for this Naruto.'_

Regardless of what he was thinking, Renamon continued to keep his nose to the ground, trying to catch Kakashi's scent once again. Regular passerby didn't think too much of the sight. After all, to them, it was only a young member of the Inuzuka clan and puppy out for walk.

Renamon yipped, to let Naruto know that he'd caught the scent once again. The two began walking at a brisk pace down the street, until they'd spied an apartment building. At this point, Renamon yipped twice; their signal for when they'd spotted the right building. Once he'd found the registry, Naruto dialed the intercom number for his teacher's room.

After a couple rings, an unsure voice rang through. "Hello?"

Naruto made sure to change his voice back to normal, "Hey, hey Kakashi-sensei. It's me, let me in."

"Naruto?" He sounded even more confused, "What are you doing here? And how'd you find where I live?"

"I'll explain when I get up, now just let me in, I've got something important to talk about."

There was a sigh on the other line. "Alright, come on up."

The intercom buzzed and Naruto let himself through. He spotted the right room number on the third floor, and was about to knock when the door opened on its own. Kakashi stood before him, his hair slightly damp, and a towel wrapped around his waist and face. The older ninja took particular note of the small dog standing behind his young student. "Just sit on the couch; I'll be with you in a minute."

Naruto did as he was told, and immediately transformed back from his disguise. After making sure all the blinds were closed, Renamon did the same. The two looked around the large, but rather barren living space; the only thing of interest was the pair of team photos sitting on an end table. One was instantly recognized as Naruto's own team photo, with him and Sasuke glaring at each other from each end of the frame. The other was apparently Kakashi's old team from his own genin days.

Before long, said jounin emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed in his uniform, mask and headband. "Alright, so I assume this has something to do with Renamon."

Naruto nodded. "He wants to come along for the mission."

Kakashi sighed, "I figured as much. Well… I don't see it as too big of a problem."

Naruto blinked. "Really?"

"Not at all. Renamon's stealth abilities are surprisingly advanced."

Said digimon pointed his finger in Naruto's face, "Ha! I _told_ you."

Kakashi smiled as Naruto prepared a retort, but cut his student off, "The only problem is getting him out of the village without being noticed."

Renamon and Naruto looked at each other, "Well…" Both began. Renamon continued alone, "I could do a Henge, and…"

"Maybe…" Naruto attempted to add, but stopped.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, "I might have something, but there's a chance it won't work too well."

(Scene Break)

Naruto and Kakashi arrived at the village gates together. Sakura blinked a couple times at the sight. "Kakashi-sensei? Naruto? What are you two doing together?"

Sasuke also looked rather curious as to the answer to that question.

The jounin waved them off. "Naruto just wanted some advice on a jutsu before we left, so he came and found me as I was leaving my apartment."

As the group left the city gates, Kakashi threw his hand over his shoulder, "Alright, Team 7, let's move out."

Once they were a good distance away, the Jounin deactivated a genjutsu, revealing a shuriken that he'd dropped on the ground. The shuriken then transformed into the fox digimon, Renamon, who immediately leapt into the trees and chased after his charge.

(Scene Break)

They had been walking for most of the day before Naruto heard a loud splash. The three genin spun around as Kakashi let out a choked death cry and was ripped apart by the chain-blades. As their sensei's killers landed, Naruto could hear one of them utter, "One down."

The blonde watched in horror as the two came for him, he tried to force his legs to move, but they wouldn't respond. He could only watch, frozen as Sasuke attempted to stop them by pinning their chains to a tree and dropkicking them. Every thing seemed to move in slow motion as the attackers' free hands both reached up and grabbed the Uchiha's ankles, and hurled him backwards. With a tug, their weapons were free again, and the two moved to kill his teammate.

'_NARUTO!'_

A voice rang through his head, and his arms began to move on their own, first forming a hand seal, before spreading wide. White spots of light formed around him, which quickly materialized into sharp arrowheads. Naruto cried out, "Diamond Storm!"

The assailants spun around and whipped their weapons rapidly, deflecting the projectiles as they approached. But as the last weapon clattered to the ground, the fighters were suddenly hit hard, and incapacitated by a very much alive Kakashi. He held the two rouge ninja under each of his arms, and smiled at his students from under his mask. "Sorry I'm late you guys. I would have stepped in sooner, but I didn't expect you to handle yourselves that well."

Sasuke stood up straight and looked at Naruto. "What technique was that?"

Sakura put her Kunai away, "Yeah Naruto, I've never seen you use something like that before."

Naruto looked around, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well… I uh…"

"It's the technique that he wanted my help with from before." Kakashi answered, "Seems you got it quick enough huh?"

"Um… yeah…"

"By the way Naruto, try not to move too much." Kakashi said as he began to tie up the two ninja, and then noticed that narrow eyed, confused look the blonde gave when he didn't understand something. Inwardly the jounin sighed, "I guess you haven't noticed, but you got hit while they were deflecting your attack, and I'm pretty sure their blades were poisoned."

Naruto's eyes bugged out as he noticed the cut on his hand, and he suddenly stood ramrod straight. Sweat began to pour down his face as he tried to figure out what to do. _'Jeez, suck out the poison already!' _Naruto could swear that he was hearing Renamon's voice, _'Don't make me come down there and do it for you.'_

Quickly the blonde brought his hand to his lips and began sucking and spitting, he was dimly aware of Kakashi talking to Tazuna. As he continued to draw out blood, he wondered, _'I wonder how long I have to keep this up for until all the poison is out. And why am I feeling so dizzy now?'_ He suddenly lost his balance fell backwards onto his butt.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, her blonde teammate looked like he was about to pass out. She ran to his side to try and keep him upright.

Sasuke was also by Naruto's side within a few seconds, "Stupid dead-last." The look in his eyes betrayed his words. He was at least a little worried for his teammate.

Kakashi glared at the bridge builder, "We'll talk more later." He rushed to his student's side, "Don't worry Naruto, I think I know what kind of poison they were using."

Naruto smiled, "Hey, hey, don't worry about me. I can keep going… no matter… what they try to…" His head rolled backwards and everything went dark.

(Scene Break)

The blonde woke up to a roaring campfire; he pushed himself of the ground, and realized that he was covered in his own orange sleeping bag. He looked around, and noticed that everyone was asleep, except for Kakashi.

"Hey, Naruto." Kakashi waved his shortest student over. Naruto stood up from the campfire and followed his sensei into the forest, somehow, even though he hadn't seen his partner since he'd first transformed into that shuriken, he knew that they're were getting closer to Renamon.

They stopped a little ways into the woods, far enough away that they could talk without waking up the rest of the group, but close enough that they could keep an eye on them. The fox leapt down to join them soon after. "Are you feeling alright?"

Naruto nodded and smiled, "I'm ready for anything. I feel like I could even take you down sensei."

Renamon shook his head, but was relieved nonetheless. To Naruto, he seemed unusually serious right now. _'Jeez kid, you give me the scare of my life and act like it was nothing. I don't know how you stay so upbeat all the time.'_

"So what happened after I passed out?"

"Tazuna explained more than he did in the mission report. Apparently, a business man named Gatou has the Wave Country under a monopoly, and he's been exploiting that by selling less and less to them for more and more money. The bridge he's building will open up new trade routes, and ruin Gatou's hold on the country. That's why he's hired ninja to try and kill the bridge builder." Kakashi closed his eye as he finished, "But there's one thing I want to know, how'd you learn that technique you used on the assassins?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "I don't even know what it was. I've never even heard of an attack like that before."

Renamon spoke up. "That's actually my technique. I already explained it to Kakashi, and that I've never even used it while we were sparring."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the idea that Renamon had been holding back on him during their sparring sessions, but since Naruto had never used Kage Bunshin on him before, he guessed they could call it even. "Well, I don't know how to explain it. I mean, I froze up when I thought you were dead, I couldn't even move. But then I just heard this weird shout, and my body moved on its own."

Kakashi nodded, "Well, whatever happened, I want you to try and practice that technique next time we get the chance." He turned and faced Renamon, "By the way, we're crossing a body of water tomorrow, and so unless you can water-walk, I suggest you disguise yourself as a shuriken again."

Renamon visibly frowned, "You know, it's pretty hard to keep up a Henge like that for a very long time."

The jounin nodded, "I know, but we'll try and find someway for you to transform back before too long."

(Scene Break)

"Just what do you think your doing?"

"Hm? Oh, I suppose you've finally heard about it then?"

"How could you be trying to re-open the gate to the human world? It was sealed for a reason, in case you've forgotten."

"My friend, I'm not _trying_ to open it. The seal that was created is weakening on its own, and it's only a matter of time before humans return here again. I'm just trying to make sure that the right ones come here first."

"We can re-seal the gateway. BlackWargreymon-"

"Even in all the time we've studied it, we still can't figure out how BlackWargreymon did what he did. It's not as though that seal stopped anybody determined enough to cross the threshold into another world anyway."

"So you've selected more chosen children to return here. Have you even thought of the implications of something such as that?"

"Indeed I have. Jijimon, QuingLongmon and I have all come to the agreement that this is the best course of action. We need people to defend the Digital World before things get out of hand."

"But what about myself and the others?"

"You may not have realized this from your little exile, but you're the only one amongst your compatriots who hasn't died since that time. They've all been reconfigured by now."

"What? No, it can't be…"

"I'm afraid it is. I have been keeping close tabs on their reincarnated forms though; I could tell you where they are if you want."

"Yes, I think that would be good."

(Scene Break)

OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!

(Warning! This Omake contains explicit content not suitable for young children. Mostly it's dirty language and stuff like that.

Alacron spun around on his barstool to face the audience. "For those of you who read my other fic, Foxhunter, you may have noticed that I have included an Omake at the end of the latest chapter. It has come to my attention that many of those who read that Omake did not get the joke. To that, the Prince of the Cosmos has a few words for you."

The cloaked and heavily inebriated Author gestured towards a seemingly empty barstool next to him. A little speck of green began hopping up and down on the seat, "You ungrateful bastards! I work my hands to the freakin' bone and you don't even know who I am? Fuck you all! Do you know how hard it is to push a hundred story tall Katamari? Really, really hard. And to those of you who did get the joke (hic) I just really, really love you. I mean it too. You guys are great."

The green speck leapt onto the bar and into a half full shot glass, the contents of which quickly disappeared. Alacron cheered for the little prince for a while, but then turned back to the audience. "I have another thing to say. For some reason, I write faster when I don't keep a think too much about how long my chapter is. Basically, if I say what I wanted to say, then I'm done. I turn it in to and go play video games. So for all you people who want to complain about chapter length, stop. I'm not gonna change things.

"Finally, this wouldn't be an Omake without a good amount of jokes, here's the end of Super Nario Bros."

(Scene Break)

Naruto and Sasuke stood triumphantly over the defeated form of Orochimaru (or Orochi Koopa as the case may be), as well as the bodies of the "Koopa Kids" and "Kabu Koopa" the wizard.

Like always, Naruto broke the silence.

"We, kick, ASS!"

Sasuke just grunted, to Naruto he knew he meant 'Of course I do, but you're not bad I guess.' It was the closest he would get to an affirmative, so Naruto just smiled.

With a sigh, Orochi Koopa got up, "Well, I guess I'll head home now."

Naruto smacked him on the head with a mallet. "Hey! You're supposed to be dead!"

Orochi rubbed his head, "No, I'm not. Bowser never dies, he just gets beat up, runs home, and tries again later." The large lizard grabbed Jirobou, who was closest, and whipped out a remote control with one large, red button on it, which he promptly pressed. Bowser's weird helicopter thing, which was called the Clown Car for some reason, burst through the wall. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to leave take a shower. My costumes all sweaty and I smell bad."

"Well Sasuigi," That earned Naruto a glare, "looks like we're just about done for the day." Naruto turned to Sakura, who had been cut down in the struggle. "Now, how about my kiss, eh Princess Sakura?"

Sakura looked aghast, "Um, can I get back to you on that one Naruto? I think I hear the Mushroom King calling me." And she ran off.

Naruto looked disappointed, "Hey waitaminut! There _is_ no Mushroom King! Sakura-chan come back!"

Sasuke didn't really feel like chasing after his two teammates, but he really didn't like the idea of spending any time alone with Orochimaru. Who knew what that crazy pedophile might do? With a sigh, Sasuke left through the hole that Sakura had made.

(Scene Break)

AN: One thing left to say. Radiata Stories is fun, but save often. You'll save yourself a lot of frustration. Trust me.


	5. Hopeless Battle, Demon of the Mist

Digital Demon Story

Hopeless Battle, Demon of the Mist!

AN: Finals, projects, bad grades, and now recovering from a World of Warcraft addiction… Life is good.

On with the story!

(Scene Break)

Renamon stretched after he'd transformed back from his shuriken disguise. Not only was holding that technique for so long a drain on his energy, but it was also damn uncomfortable. You had to be completely still while holding a disguise like that, but it's not as though they had much choice. The fox digimon did not know how to water-walk, nor would he be able to keep himself hidden even if he could.

He didn't have too much time to contemplate his discomfort with the transformation technique, as Team 7 had already gotten a decent head start on him, and after the ambush from yesterday, he didn't like being far away from Naruto at any time.

Not that he didn't think that the boy couldn't handle himself; he had nothing but the highest respect for his partner. The way he had fought against the assassins had only cemented that respect further into place. But if what Kakashi said was true, then they'd have to fight even stronger ninja soon, and Renamon knew he may have to step in if things got serious.

But the assassins weren't the only thing that was bothering the fox digimon. He still couldn't figure out for the life of him how Naruto had managed to use the Diamond Storm technique. Now, having been born in the human world, this particular Renamon knew very little about digimon, and the things he did know were instinctual. He didn't know how he knew them, but he just did. They were things like, other types of digimon, how evolution works, that Naruto was his partner, and how to fight. One thing that he knew was that only Renamon and could use Diamond Storm.

The whole incident had left Renamon with a mix of emotions he didn't know how to deal with. He'd been so worried about the attack, but also about exposing himself that he'd sat back and did nothing. He couldn't allow himself to sleep because Naruto had been poisoned, and he was afraid that his blonde partner might die if he took his eyes off him for more than a minute. Sasuke and Sakura had worried for him as well, or at least, that's how Renamon had interpreted their behavior from last night.

To his credit, Naruto was his usual self. Bright, smiling, ready to face the world. It had helped to put his teammates, as well as the bridge builder, at ease. Nobody had brought up the attack since Naruto had awoken that morning, and only the blonde and his sensei were acting normally. Stealing another look at Naruto, Renamon silently decided to step in if they were attacked again.

(Scene Break)

Sakura stole another glance at Naruto has he walked ahead of the group, practically bouncing with energy. She couldn't understand how that idiot could be like that after what had happened. He'd almost died yesterday, and chances were that they'd get into an even tougher fight than before. How could he pretend like nothing had happened?

"_That stupid idiot would probably get himself killed if he were made a genin."_

She almost flinched at the memory. It was odd how much more she sounded like a bitch in her memory than she had before the attack.

"_Hi Sakura-chan! Hey, maybe we could go get some food together or something?"_

"_Naruto… You're annoying."_

Dammit, why was she wringing her hands like that? She wasn't Hinata.

"_Kakashi-sensei, Naruto's going to be alright, right?"_

"_Aa, don't worry Sakura, he's already through the worst of it."_

'_Last night… I never thought that I never felt so worried. Over Naruto of all people.' _She smiled slightly. _'I guess you never know what you have until it's gone, or almost leaves you in this case. Naruto…'_ She looked at her blonde teammate again, unsure of how to finish that train of thought.

Sasuke was also staring at the hyperactive blonde, but without as much worry as Sakura had.

"_Naruto! Can't you even do a simple Henge right?"_

The ebon haired Uchiha scowled, _'He's nothing but a dead-last loser. How can he be improving so quickly?'_

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

"_Diamond Storm!"_

'_I won't let him pass me. I'll just have to get that much stronger.'_

Kakashi continued to hide a sad smile under his mask. The incident with the poison had been a scare for the team, but Naruto was never in any real danger. He had hoped that his students wouldn't have to go through the same things he had to before they realized just how much their teammates had meant to them. Thank god for the Kyuubi's healing powers or he might be one student short already.

(Scene Break)

'_Well shit.'_ Renamon thought.

Kakashi had said that he would protect his teammates. He said he wouldn't let them die.

He was a damn liar, that Kakashi. How the hell are you supposed to protect someone when you're trapped fifteen feet in the air, trapped in a water bubble?

"Everyone!" Kakashi yelled, "Get Tazuna out of here as fast as you can!"

'_Run away?' _The fox thought, _'Yeah, like that'll do us any good, this Zabuza guy will just chase us down and kill us off once he's done with Kakashi.'_

Naruto seemed to get angry, "Kakashi you idiot! If we just run away, that no eyebrow freak will just kill you then hunt us down and kill us too!"

Renamon blinked, _'Whoa, déjà vu.'_

Sasuke stumbled. He'd been about to follow Kakashi's orders without question, but Naruto made a good point. What would running away now do for them? Besides tire them out when they really had to fight Zabuza. Wasn't it better to fight now, when they were still at their best, and their chances were better? _'Dammit! If I could just think of a plan, but I don't have any time! We need to stall, or distract him somehow…'_

The missing-nin just laughed as he created a water clone. "Seems like the punk's got some brains in him after all. Go ahead and run, it will be fun to hunt you all down."

The blonde gritted his teeth. _'That bastard! I'll take him down, even if I have to go down with him.'_

Renamon blinked again, and then narrowed his eyes in concentration. _'Naruto, if you're gonna stick this out, then I'm with you all the way.'_

Naruto put his fingers together in a seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Twenty-one Naruto clones appeared on the field. Each was standing in a different position, but there was one next to the real Naruto who stood out. His back was almost ramrod straight, his arms were crossed, and he was almost completely turned away from the water clone, but was looking over his shoulder with a haughty grin that looked really out of place on Naruto.

Naruto stole a glance at the clone, _'Renamon?'_

'_Yeah, it's me.'_ Came a reply in his head.

The blonde hid his shock well, _'So you can hear me.'_

'_Yeah, and you can hear me… We're going to need a plan.'_

Naruto grinned, _'Don't worry, I got something cooking'_

Renamon (still disguised) and three clones charged forward. One clone sprinted ahead of the rest, and was instantly cleaved in half but the gigantic sword. The water clone moved to recover from his swing but the other two shadow clones charged in and each grabbed an arm and tried to anchor him in place. It worked long enough for Renamon to run up, leap into the air and deliver a powerful roundhouse to the clone's face. Five pairs of eyes widened in surprise as the water clone's neck twisted at an unnatural angle, and then dispelled in the water it'd been created from.

'_Amazing!' _Sakura thought. _'Naruto's really changed lately, I never thought he'd been able to think this far ahead before.'_

Kakashi smiled under his mask. _'Wild and unpredictable one moment, then quick and calculating the next. Renamon is really changing Naruto, or maybe this is how he always was.'_

Zabuza laughed, shocking the ninja out of their thoughts. "Savor that victory while you can brat. It only gets tougher from here."

"Pssh!" Naruto scoffed, "I know that! Why do you think I made so many clones if I only needed four?"

"No kidding," Renamon said. "And they call _me_ the dead last."

The other clones shouted out agreements, and hurled insults at Zabuza while complaining about people underestimating them. The Ex-Mist-Nin smiled underneath the bandages, _'I wonder how many clones I'll need to take this kid out. Ah well, I'll just create two more and work my way up as necessary.'_ "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu"

Two more water clones materialized between Naruto's small army and Zabuza. The blonde smiled, and charged with the rest of his clones. The same trick wouldn't work twice, but he'd figure something out as he went along.

As expected, the going was much harder now that Zabuza wasn't underestimating him, and the two water clones working in tandem provided an excellent defense to Naruto's charges. Whenever one was about to be taken out by Naruto, the other would hurl a shuriken or swing his sword to take out the shadow clone that was going to deliver the killing blow. It was frustrating, but playing the waiting game for a while was part of the plan.

"Hi-yah!" The real Naruto went in low, trying to sweep kick one of the clones. Unfortunately the water clone saw it coming and punted him across the clearing, heading in the direction where Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna were waiting.

Sasuke clenched his fist, then released it, forming a hand seal. Renamon's eyes snapped toward the Uchiha, then smiled in realization, and sent a quick message to Naruto of what he was planning. The clones retreated just as the "Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!" Was called out. The two water clones leapt in the air, with one jumping in front of the other as a flurry of shuriken came from the direction that Sasuke had been in when he'd created the giant fireball. The clone intercepted the entire barrage into his body before turning back into water, while the other clone threw his sword through the fire. A fleshy thud was heard, and the fire died down, revealing Sasuke, impaled on the weapon.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi, Sakura and Tazuna chorused. Naruto and his clones were already charging the clone's landing area while Sakura and Tazuna tried to catch the wounded Uchiha.

As soon as the water clone touched down, the explosion note went off. Smoke enveloped the area, and by the time it cleared 'Sasuke' had become a log. The clones continued to charge, this time aiming for the real Zabuza, each began brandishing kunai and shuriken, and one revealed a gigantic Fuuma Shuriken. The one with the largest weapon went into a spin, to wind up his throw, and just as he released transformed back into Sasuke.

The spinning blade was dead on, but Zabuza simply scoffed and lifted his legs high, causing the weapon to pass right under him. As it did, the second shuriken was revealed, this one headed straight for his neck. The mist-nin's eyes widened in surprise, but with precise timing he reached out and caught the weapon out of the air. He laughed triumphantly, "Is that all you've got you brats?" He began to wind up a throw…

And Sasuke smirked. The shuriken that Zabuza was holding transformed with a poof into Naruto. The missing-nin's eyes widened in shock, and left him stunned long enough for Naruto to pull himself upward and thrust a kunai for his had, but not long enough to hit the intended target. Zabuza let go of the boy's ankle and twisted so the gleaming weapon wouldn't hit any of his vitals. With a meaty thunk, that knife planted itself in his shoulder, and the three ninja fell to the lake below.

Kakashi landed gracefully, and Zabuza sunk into the lake a bit before regaining control of his chakra enough to stand on the water's surface. Naruto hadn't thought that far ahead, nor could he water walk, and wound up belly flopping into the lake, causing Sakura and Tazuna to wince in sympathy. Zabuza growled in anger, and reached for his sword, intending to finish the blonde while he could, had Kakashi not placed himself between the jounin and genin.

The silver haired jounin's arms were crossed over his chest, and his bandanna was pulled back over his sharingan. "What's this about Hatake?" Zabuza said, "Why'd you hide your sharingan? This fight isn't over yet."

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Actually, it is. That kunai that Naruto stabbed you with, it was covered in the same poison that the Demon Brothers had coated on their chain blades." He turned his head to his raven haired student, who was currently pulling Naruto out of the lake and onto his feet. "Sasuke was kind enough to coat a couple of kunai in that poison before we left, and they used one on you. By now, the poison should have worked its way well through your blood stream, and you should be falling unconscious any second now."

Zabuza let loose a disbelieving noise, but his face was one of shock. He stumbled a bit across the water, and then fell, floating face down in the water. As he did, a figure landed next to him. "Thank you for disposing of Zabuza for us, leaf-nin. You have done the village of hidden Mist a great service." The figure bowed his head.

Naruto sputtered a bit as Sasuke tried to keep him on his feet, "Hey! Who- Cough cough Who the hell are you? Hack"

"I am a hunter-nin from the village of hidden Mist, and I've come to collect Zabuza's body." He wrapped a limp arm around his shoulders, "I will be sure to tell the Mizukage about your help here." The hunter formed a one-hand seal and vanished before them.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he watched them leave. He knew something was wrong, but he hadn't figured out what until the "hunter-nin" had left. _'They'll be back, and better prepared too. I'd better start training my team more seriously if we want to be able to get through the next fight without suffering any casualties.'_

"Sensei!" Sakura called, "Are you coming or not?"

Kakashi smiled, and began to lead the way down the road they'd been walking on. Once he was sure Naruto could stand on his own, Sasuke let go to take up his position on Tazuna's left, leaving Naruto with the rear. The demon-container dispelled his clones, and Renamon made his way back into the trees.

'_Naruto.' _The blonde managed to keep himself from reflexively snapping his head around to try and find the source of the noise, or telepathy or whatever. _'There was something about that hunter-nin that bothered me.'_

'_Can it wait?' _The blonde said exasperatedly, _'I've had enough surprises today thank you.'_

'_This is important.' _ Renamon replied, _'That other ninja, he had a digimon with him, I'm sure of it.'_

(Scene Break)

OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!

Reporter-Lady swirled her drink with the tiny umbrella it came with, when the ground began to shake. The small quakes became rhythmic, and steadily louder and stronger. The bar door swung open, and a grotesque creature made its way inside. Its skin was red and leathery, its eyes were glowing a bright gold, and its teeth and claws were blood stained. It was easily over 10 feet tall, 11 if you counted the horns. The reporter had the sudden urge to cower in fear.

Alacron raised his glass. "Hey everybody!" He slurred, "It's Diablo!"

"**HUZZAH!**" the rest of the patron's collectively cheered.

The demon chuckled and waved, "Oh, you guys." He made his was up to the bar where Alacron and the reporter were sitting. He made a gesture, causing the floor to split open and a throne made of human bones and flesh to rise in front of the bar. Knocking three other stools away, he sat down in the throne and positioned himself comfortably. "Hey Banjo, the usual."

The bartender lazily made his way to the back, only to return with a keg with the word, "Tequila" labeled on the side. He hefted the container onto the bar as Diablo dropped a bag (presumably filled with something valuable) on the counter.

The reporter leaned in close to the author, "You're friends with Diablo?" She whispered.

"If I say so yeah." The inebriated writer responded.

"Oh. Right."

He handed her a sheet of paper, "Maybe this'll calm yer nerves."

(Omake!)

'_Phew! I can't believe I made it on time.'_

"Ah Sakura," A well endowed woman in very nicely made business attire approached her. "I hope your prepared."

"Yes Tsunade." Sakura smiled back.

"You know, you've got real guts. Not many people take on a murder case for their first trial."

Sakura scratched the back of her head and flushed, "Yeah well, I really owe him one. I need to defend him against these false allegations."

Tsunade's eyes widened, "You knew the defendant before the trial?"

"Yep." Sakura chirped, "In fact, he's one of the reasons I became a lawyer."

"IT'S OVER, IT'S ALL OVER!"

Tsunade grimaced, "Sakura… Is that your client?"

"I'M GUILTY! GIVE ME THE DEATH PENALTY! I'M NOT AFRAID TO DIE!"

The pink-haired attorney sighed. "Yep, that's Lee alright."

(Omake!)

"So anyway," Diablo continued, "As it turns out, she _was _1900 years old, and those cops _were_ just trumping up charges on me." The demon grunted, "This happens all the fuckin' time I tell ya."

"Yeah," Alacron said, "That, or you destroy the evidence they have against you and scare the hell out of whoever's prosecuting you." He took another swig, "Either way seems to work out fine in the end."

"Yeah, well for me at least."

"Um, Alacron?" Reporter lady tugged on his cloak, "This is supposed to be a fusion right? So what is it a fusion with?"

The author spun around on his stool to face the audience. "Find out next chapter!"

The reporter lady sweat-dropped, "I'm over here you wino."


End file.
